The Gryphon School
Bristol Road, Sherborne, DT9 4EQ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Trust
- SHERBORNE AREA SCHOOLS' TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Jim Gower
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Salisbury
- SEN provision
- SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- West Dorset
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,495
- Pupils on roll
- 1,569
- URN
- 138471
- Local authority
- Dorset
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01935813122
About this school
The Gryphon School is a Church of England secondary academy in Sherborne. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,569 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The Gryphon School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 21 June 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 236 | 239 | 234 |
| Attainment 8 score | 50.1 | 48.1 | 46.7 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.14 -0.05 to +0.32 | -0.06 -0.24 to +0.13 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 45% | 46.4% | 44.4% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 69% | 65.7% | 66.2% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 38% | 33.9% | 33.3% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.4 | 4.3 | 4.1 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How The Gryphon School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Dorset average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 50.1 | 36.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 48.1 | 36.8 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 46.7 | 35.5 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,552 |
| 2023/24 | 1,514 |
| 2024/25 | 1,555 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Gryphon School compares
The Gryphon School ranked 6th of 19 secondary schools in Dorset for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 64% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 18% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 46.7 | 7.9% | 20.5% | 1,569 | — |
| Buckler's Mead School | 44.5 | 8% | 31.6% | 812 | 4.7 miles |
| Westfield Academy | 44.5 | 7.8% | 21.7% | 1,013 | 5.9 miles |
| Preston School Academy | 45.9 | 7.7% | 20.7% | 1,003 | 6.2 miles |
| King Arthur's School | 40.6 | 8.9% | 26.1% | 450 | 7.8 miles |
| Stanchester Academy | 43.7 | 9.1% | 19.6% | 829 | 9.3 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 20.53%
- English as an additional language
- 10.4%
- Overall absence
- 7.85%
- Persistent absence
- 20.41%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Buckler's Mead School4.7 miles
Secondary · Yeovil
-
Westfield Academy5.9 miles
Secondary · Yeovil
-
Preston School Academy6.2 miles
Secondary · Yeovil
-
King Arthur's School7.8 miles
Secondary · Wincanton
-
Stanchester Academy9.3 miles
Secondary · Stoke-sub-Hamdon
Other schools in Sherborne
- All Saints Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Charlton Horethorne Church of England Primary School Primary
- Milborne Port Primary School Primary
- Sherborne Abbey Church of England Primary School Primary
- Sherborne Primary School Primary
- St Andrew's Church of England Primary School Primary
- St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas Primary
- Thornford CofE Primary School Primary
- Trent Young's CofE Primary School Primary
- Harbour Vale School Academies
- Leweston School Independent schools
- Sherborne Preparatory School Independent schools
Common questions
- What ages does The Gryphon School teach?
- The Gryphon School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Sherborne.
- Who is the headteacher of The Gryphon School?
- The headteacher of The Gryphon School is Mr Jim Gower, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The Gryphon School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Gryphon School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at The Gryphon School?
- The Gryphon School has 1,569 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is The Gryphon School full?
- The Gryphon School has capacity for 1,495 pupils and 1,569 on roll (105%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is The Gryphon School a faith school?
- Yes. The Gryphon School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Salisbury.
- Is The Gryphon School a selective school?
- No. The Gryphon School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is The Gryphon School part of an academy trust?
- The Gryphon School is part of SHERBORNE AREA SCHOOLS' TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does The Gryphon School have?
- The schools register lists The Gryphon School's special educational needs provision as: SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have The Gryphon School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 50.1 in 2022/23 and 46.7 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Gryphon School compare with other schools in Dorset?
- The Gryphon School ranked 6th of 19 secondary schools in Dorset for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 64% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 18% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is The Gryphon School's absence rate?
- The Gryphon School's overall absence rate is 7.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Gryphon School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Gryphon School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 1 July 2026.